A Picture of Progress

What a long way Richmond has come in seven years! A great picture of building financial stability is seen in the graph, which shows four of the major funds that make up the City’s budget. The General Fund, which includes such areas as police, fire, recreation, streets, and more, has gone from a large deficit to healthy reserves. The Solid Waste Fund, which includes trash and recycling services and the City’s compost site, has grown from just over $200 in cash reserves in 2010 to a healthy amount over the last seven years. The two other enterprise funds, Water and Wastewater, are vital resources for every citizen in our city, so it is encouraging to see that the cash reserves for both of these funds are healthy and have more than doubled. Longtime problems that plagued the wastewater system were solved by the green, state of the art wastewater treatment plant, now in operation. The up and down of the Wastewater Fund’s cash reserve line on the graph represents the construction period of the updated wastewater treatment plant. How was such progress accomplished? By the diligent budgeting and careful spending of the team of mayor and council, department heads, and administration, plus the financial support of the city through taxes and bonds. With continued care, our city can move into the future on a sound financial foundation. Let’s move ahead and MAKE IT RICHMOND!